3 weeks before the start of the year: only 40% of the owners of the kindergartens and private dormitories asked for approval • 20% of the applications were rejected • The Ministry of Welfare: "Safety is the top priority"
Kindergarten
Photo:
Oren Ben Hakon
The suspicion of abuse in a daycare center in Ramla, which already included 11 detainees, again shocked parents and the public - but it seems that this year too there will be no significant change in kindergartens and private dormitories: three weeks into the school year.
Demonstration in front of the discussion of the abuse case in Ramla // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon
This is despite the explicit requirement for this in the Day Care Supervision Law. Of those who applied, 20% were disqualified due to various deficiencies.
Reminder: The Dormitory Supervision Law states that in order to obtain an operating permit, homeowners of 7 or more children are required to meet three conditions: lack of criminal record for anyone who comes in contact with toddlers, proper and proper structure of the daycare, and staff training in first aid for toddlers. The three conditions must be met together.
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It is estimated that there are about ten thousand private kindergartens and nurseries in the country. At present, only about 4,000 owners of these frameworks have applied for approval for the day care and nursery department at the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, headed by Amir Medina. 3,200 have already received such approval, while the rest have been disqualified due to various defects.
The problem is not just in submitting applications for approval. In Israel, there are about 550,000 infants and toddlers from birth to three years. About 170,000 infants and toddlers are cared for at home, by a family member or caregiver, but the majority - 380,000 - are in settings: about 130,000 in supervised and subsidized day care centers, some of which belong to private operators who have chosen to work under supervision, and some to organizations such as the community center , Faith, NAMAT, etc .; While in the private and non-subsidized frameworks there are about 250,000 toddlers.
In these private and unsupervised settings, most cases of abuse have been discovered in recent years. One of them is the Carmel Moeda affair, which was accused of abusing and assaulting minors in its daycare center, "Baby Love" in Rosh HaAyin. But of all these frameworks, of the 550,000 children in them, there are a total of 23 supervisors, who are supposed to check the safety, education and care of toddlers. The Ministry of Welfare is still waiting for additional standards, which did not arrive due to the budget disapproval, and contacts are currently being held with the Ministry of Finance in order to increase the number of standards.
Confidential database
The importance of the Supervision Law and its implementation is also evidenced by the fact that in recent months 136 staff members have been refused further employment in dormitories, due to violent offenses against minors, drug use, prostitution or a criminal record for serious offenses. The move was made possible thanks to a confidential database containing details about those who are not allowed to work with children, which was set up in the day care and nursery department at the Ministry of Labor and Welfare. The owners of the dormitories and kindergartens are obliged to provide the day care department with the details of the employee, the department conducts an inspection with the police, and at the end of it, a decision is made regarding the employment of the caregiver. Day care centers that do not meet the regulations and the examination required for non-criminal registration are exposed to prosecution, and the day care center may be closed.
The Supervision Law also deals with the training of caregivers, but so far the supervision regulations on the subject have not been promoted. The reason: in the last year and a half, the Knesset committees have not been active. Now, with the formation of the government, the day care department is working on writing regulations regarding the training of caregivers. Under the regulations, the supervised frameworks will be subject to surprise inspections by the supervisors.
"Dormitory supervision is the series of an industry that has been a no-man's land for 70 years," said MK Dr. Yifat Shasha-Biton, who led the enactment of the Supervision Law. "The Ministry of Welfare must use all the tools at its disposal to locate dormitories that operate without a license and in violation of the law, and if necessary - also mobilize the local government for the overall effort in regulating these frameworks for the safety of our children. At the same time, I also ask parents to take responsibility. If you have not seen it, ask the management of the place to present the license, otherwise you are going to put your valuables in an unsupervised place. In light of the atrocities we were exposed to, no one Can operate in the 'near' method ".
"No updated budget"
The Ministry of Labor and Welfare responded: "The day care department is working to implement the provisions of the law, which in the first stage includes issuing preliminary permits for day care. Due to the fact that the Knesset committees have not acted in the past year and a half, the ministry has not worked hard. Their legislation will be enacted soon. In addition, due to the lack of an updated budget, the Ministry of Labor and Welfare did not receive the additions to the supervisory standards promised with the approval of the law in the Knesset. Therefore, ahead of the upcoming state budget approval, the ministry is working with the Treasury to obtain significant standards. .
That